1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape apparatus for reproducing information such as music recorded on a magnetic tape, and more particularly, to a magnetic tape apparatus provided with a function to search a specified tune and reproducing the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a convention magnetic tape apparatus that reproduces an analog signal recorded on a magnetic tape, for example, a general stereo type cassette tape apparatus, the record region is divided into two regions on a magnetic tape, each having 2 tracks, whereby recording is carried out on a total of 4 tracks. In such a recording format, recording/reproduction is carried out by each side of the record region. Therefore, when the loading direction of a magnetic tape to an apparatus is only in one way, the magnetic tape is run in a corresponding direction to carry out recording/reproduction for both record regions.
For the reproduction of music and the like, there are some magnetic tape apparatus that detect the head position of a desired tune to reproduce the music. When a tune is to be reproduced, a signal on a magnetic tape is read out by a head to detect a non-recorded area which is identified as an interval period. The magnetic tape is forwarded at a high speed to the interval period between an immediate preceding tune and the desired tune.
In carrying out head position detecting operation of a tune where the desired tune resides in a record region that is not being reproduced, the magnetic tape must be fast-forwarded to the end of the current reproducing record region, the travel direction reversed, and fast-forwarded again to the beginning of a desired tune. The head position detecting operation is time consuming in such a case.
In comparison to the above-described magnetic tape apparatus that carries out recording/reproduction in analog format, a magnetic tape apparatus such as a DAT (Digital Audio Tape Recorder) that carries out recording/reproduction of high audio quality in digital format. One type of a DAT is a S-DAT including a fixed type head and has the travel direction of the tape fixed in one direction. In another digital magnetic tape apparatus, the travel direction of the tape moves in forward and backward directions such as the aforementioned analog, cassette type apparatus.
The digital magnetic tape apparatus employs a magnetic tape in which the record region is divided into two as in an analog cassette tape, each having 9 tracks to carry out recording. In one of the record region, 8 of the 9 tracks have the main information such as music recorded as .sub.-- "main signals,.sub.-- " and the remaining 1 track has position information indicating the recorded position of a tune and tune number information indicating the recorded order recorded as .sub.-- "auxiliary signals..sub.-- "
In this magnetic tape apparatus, the magnetic tape is driven as in an analog cassette tape apparatus at the time of recording and reproduction. For example, when reproduction of one of the record regions is to be carried out, a main signal and an auxiliary signal are read out simultaneously from a main signal track and an auxiliary signal track, respectively, by which the sequential order of the tune currently being reproduced is identified from the auxiliary signal. Thus, a desired tune can be searched by fast-forwarding the magnetic tape while reproducing the auxiliary signal without having to detect an interval period
Although detection of an interval period is eliminated in the above-described magnetic tape apparatus, an auxiliary signal in a record region can not be read out if it does not reside in the record region that is being reproduced. This means that the head position detecting operation of a tune recorded in a record region not currently being reproduced could not be carried out unless a procedure similar to that of the aforementioned magnetic tape apparatus is required. Thus, the head position detecting operation is still time consuming.
One exemplary magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus solving such disadvantages is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 4-38783. Direction information indicating the travel direction of the magnetic tape is applied in addition to tune number information and the like. In this magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus, the travel direction of the tape at the time of reproduction and the record region in which the tune to be reproduced resides are identified by the tune number and direction information obtained by the auxiliary signal. Then, the travel direction of the ape is determined by the identified result to search the specified time.
If the direction information is recorded on the auxiliary signal track at short intervals in the above-described magnetic recording/reproduction apparatus, the position of a desired tune can be identified promptly. For example, in a tape having a plurality of tunes already recorded such as a commercially available music tape, all the information of the recorded tunes are known. Therefore, it is possible to record direction information as described above. However, in the case of recording on a blank tape, information of all the recorded tunes gathered after the recording operation will be recorded at one area at the beginning or head. portion of the record region of the forward route side.
Under such circumstances, it is necessary to travel the magnetic tape to the head portion to obtain the required information, and then forward the magnetic tape to a target position. Thus, the head position detecting operation is time consuming having disadvantages similar to the cases described above.